They cried because they wanted to be victims, instead of responsible for their writing blocks. They whined because it was easier and less scary than facing the facts.

But when your income depends on your ability to write, whining won’t get you anywhere. It will distract you from the golden opportunity that writer’s block always offers: greater clarity and confidence.

You remember the last time you channel surfed? We all do it when there’s nothing good on TV — nothing that holds our attention.

Well, you can’t channel surf with a book. You can skip pages, put the book down, or stare off into space, but that book isn’t changing (unless you have something to write with or a pair of scissors in hand).

That gives the book power. The book controls how you pay attention to it, in a way television can’t.

Because of the links in hypertext, web content is vulnerable, just like television, to channel surfing.